Confocal microscopy can image tissues at microscopic resolution. Using a detection aperture, confocal microscopy technique(s) can reject out-of-focus light, and provide a clear image of the tissue at an imaging depth up to several 100 μm below the tissue surface. Confocal microscopy technique(s) can have a high imaging resolution, which facilitates a visualization of cellular and sub-cellular features of the tissue in a similar manner to the morphologic features used during the histologic analysis of tissue. Confocal microscopy technique(s) have been used for imaging various human organs, including, e.g., skin, cervix, gastrointestialn tract organs, airway, and eye.
A typical confocal microscopy system can include a system console and an optical probe. The system console usually has a laser source, beam scanners, detector, data acquisition unit, display, and data storage unit. The size of the system console is large, and the price expensive. Conventionally, the confocal microscopy systems have been primarily used at specialty hospital settings in developed countries.
A clinical utility of confocal microscopy technique(s) can be increased if the system console can be made small, cost-effective and potable. Recently, mobile devices that can acquire, display, and store images have become popular, and widely used, including smart phones and tablets. Such exemplary mobile device typically has a light source (flash), detector (camera sensor), data acquisition unit, display, and data storage unit. The mobile device can be used as a system console for a confocal microscopy system, if additional optics can be provided to facilitate an optical-sectioning capability of confocal microscopy technique(s). The mobile device is generally significantly smaller and cheaper than the traditional confocal microscopy system console. The mobile device typically has a cellular network connection even in low and middle income countries, which makes it relatively easy to share the acquired images with the expert clinician who might be located remotely even in a different country.
Thus, there may be a need and benefit to provide methods, systems and devices that can conduct confocal microscopy of the tissue in conjunction with a mobile device that can acquire, display and/or store images.